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The Plain English Meanings of
Turkish Idioms
'P'

We know you've seen reference books written for
English speakers about English and American Idioms.
And you may have seen books for Turkish speakers on the same subject.
You may even have seen books for
Turkish speakers about Turkish Idioms -- all in Turkish.
But have you ever seen
a reference for English speakers about Turkish Idioms?
Well, when we couldn't find one after looking for seven years,
we decided to do-it-ourselves.
Observe our sampling just for Turkish idioms that begin
with the letter

P.

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Site visitors may navigate to other Turkish Idioms pages using the
House-Favorite Idioms Page Index.

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Turkish Idioms beginning with the letter P

The Turkish

The Literal English Meaning The 'Plain' English Meaning Comments and Examples
Pa 
[-in, -ın, -un, -ün]
pabucu (pabuçları, pabucunu, papucu) dama atılmak
[for] shoe (shoes) to be thrown to the roofto lose favor; to fall from popular esteem; to seem less appealing; to look pale by comparison
  • Televizyon yaygınlaşınca radyonun pabucu dama atıldı. When television became widespread, radio lost favor.
  • Küçük doğunca büyüğün pabucu dama atılır mı hiç? When the little one was born, did the older one lose favor at all?
  • 1600 adet eklenebilir sözlük ve terim bankası ile Babylon, eski sözlüklerimizin pabucunu dama atıyor. Babylon (with its 1600 varieties word-and-term bank, that can be augmented) makes our older dictionaries look pale by comparison. CD World, Turkish Edition, July 2003
pabuç bırakmamak to not leave a shoenot to be frightened off by, not to be afraid of another's threats, not to be deterred byEğer arsanızı onlara satmazsanız, sizi döveceklerini söylüyorlar. Ben öyle kuru gürültüye pabuç bırakmam, beni korkutamazlar. If you don't sell your land to them, they are saying that they'll beat you up. I'm not afraid of such blustering; they can't scare me.
pabuç pahalı a shoe is expensive
  • "It's a job (or some work, business, or endeavor) that is seriously dangerous."
  • "As he's too powerful for me to tangle with, I'd better not press matters any further."
  • "I've bitten off more than I can chew."
  • sth seriously dangerous
  • sth in serious danger
  • Bakmış pabuç pahalı, hemen oradan tüymüş. [He had a look], saw it as being very dangerous business, and immediately sneaked off from there.
  • Önceleri şirketin iflas edeceğinden korkmuyordu ama baktı ki pabuç pahalı, var gücüyle çalışıp şirketi kurtardı. The others before him weren't worrying that the company was going bankrupt, but he saw that it was in serious danger. [So] he worked with all his might and saved the company.
  • Kabadayı bir nara attı, ama karşısındaki bıçağını çekince, baktı pabuç pahalı; kaçmaya başladı. The 'tough guy' swore [at the other guy], but face-to-face when [the other guy] pulled a knife, he [the 'tough guy'] saw [that] he'd bitten off more than he could chew; and he started to flee.

pabucuna kum dolmak (taş kaçmak) to fill the shoe with sand (for stone to slip into the shoe)
  • to be uneasy, nervous, apprehensive, worried -- because of a situation, event, occurrence
  • to meet with an obstacle
  • to be wretched and poor, to be unable to be successful at work
Rüşvet olayının iyice araştırılacağı söylenince Charlie'nin pabucuna kum doldu. When it was announced that the bribery (event) would be thoroughly investigated, Charlie became very nervous.
paçaları (paçasını, paçayı) kaptırmak for the trotters (trotter) to get caught
  • to be unable to escape some situation (or business, or personal relationship) that you started but which you'd now like to drop
  • to get involved in a situation (or business, or personal relationship) and not be able to get out of it
  • to be trapped in an unwanted situation (or business, or personal relationship)
  • İstiyor istemesine ama yapamıyor; bir kez paçasını öyle bir kaptırmış ki, arkadaşlarının elinden kendini sıyıramıyor. She wants to [make a] demand, but she can't. Once she got trapped like that [in the relationship], she couldn't extricate herself from the control of her friends.
    paçaları sıvamak
    Also see
    kolları sıvamak.
    to plaster the trottersto prepare to do a job with all your strength and desire, to get ready to start some important business, to roll up one's sleevesPaçaları sıvayıp işe koyulduk, akşama doğru da işi yarılamış gibiydik. We 'rolled up our sleeves' and began doing the job -- and by evening we'd finished nearly half of it.
    paçaları tutuşmak
    for the trotters
    to catch fire
  • to be in a stew (about sth)
  • to be seized by (emotional) agitation (characterized by a feeling of anxiety mixed with urgency that manifests itself in a display of haste)
  • Terörü gören Avrupa'nın paçası tutuştu. İngiltere Dışişleri Bakanı ve Almanya İçişleri Bakanı, 'Son saldırılar, Türkiye'nin Avrupa Birliği'ne biran önce alınması gerektiğini gösteriyor' dediler. Headline: Europe (upon seeing the terrorism [recently visited upon Turkey]) is in an agitated haste. The British Foreign Minister and the German Interior Minister said, "The recent [terror] attacks show the necessity of accepting Turkey into the European Union, as soon as possible."
    paçavraya çevirmek (paçavrasını çıkarmak) to turn a piece of worn out cloth (to remove a piece of worn out cloth)
  • to be openly and vehemently critical in reporting the faults of something or someone
  • to exhaust, to wear someone to a frazzle, to leave someone drained of strength
  • to make a mess of, to ruin
  • Toplantıda Müdür Bey Sema'yı çok ağır eleştirdi, paçavraya çevirdi vallahi! The Boss criticized Ms. Sema very heavily in the meeting. He blasted her, it's really true!
  • Kitabı çıkar çıkmaz okumuş, üzerine iki yazı yazmıştı. Her iki yazıda da paçavrasını çıkarmıştı kitabı.n As soon as the book was published he read it, and he wrote two news articles about it. And in both articles he tore the book to pieces. (...he was openly and vehemently critical of the book.)
    In the final Turkish sentence above there is an example of 'devrik cümle'...
  • Papaz her gün (zaman/vakit) pilav yemez. See Her gün papaz pilav yemez.  
    para yemek money food
    • to spend money freely
    • to accept a bribe
    Manken Gizem Özdilli, 'Bugüne kadar hiçbir sevgilimin parasını yemedim, benim bankaya değil, seveceğim erkeğe ihtiyacım var' dedi. Model Gizem Özdilli said, "Up to now, I haven't spent freely any of my lover's money whatsoever, I need the man I love, not a bank.
    paranın üstü kalsın
    let the top of the money be keptSee üstü kalsın. 
    Parayı veren düdüğü çalar. The one who gives the money plays the whistle.The one who pays the piper calls the tune.May be used as shown...
    parmakla göstermek/gösterilmekto show with fingers
    • to be a person of distinction
    • to be famous
    • to be well-known
    Limanda herkes bizi parmakla gösteriyor. At the harbor we are well known by everyone.
    -a/-e pas vermek to give a pass
    1. to pass the ball to (one's teammate)
    2. (for a woman) to give (a man) a come hither look, make a pass at
    Güzel ve seksi olduğu kadar da cilveli-işveli olduğu için çapkınları etrafında pervane eden Yeliz, kalbini bir süreliğine yeni aşklara kapalı tuttuğunu söyleyerek hiçbirine pas vermedi. Yeliz (who makes womanizers spin around like propellers because she is very flirtatious, and so beautiful and sexy) hasn't made a pass at anyone -- saying that her heart has been closed to new loves for a while. Gözcü Gazetesi, 1 July 2003
    pat diye saying Bam!/Whop!/Whomp!
  • with a thud, thump, whop, or crash
  • suddenly
  •  
    Pe 
    pek ala
    Also seen as
    pekala.
    Also see bal gibi.
    very very good
  • All right./ Okay./ Very well.
  • most certainly
  • very well
  • perfectly good, quite adequate
  • If that's so, then...?
  • Note: In the Elementary School system, pekala is the highest grade/mark that a Turkish child can receive.
  • Pek ala yapacağım. I will most certainly do it.
  • Beni pekala anladı. She understood me very well.
  • Pek ala bir saat. Nesini beğenmiyorsun? It's a perfectly good watch. What don't you like about it?
  • Pek ala, niçin öyle yapmadın. If so, then why didn't you do it that way?
  • pek sayılmaz...it be not counted...not actually, not quite, not exactly... 
    Pi 
    piyasaya çıkarmak to remove to the market
  • to put (a product) on the market
  • to publish
  • Türk Sineması'nın unutulmaz oyuncularından Hüseyin Baradan, 'Bu Gözler Nerede Gördü' adlı kitabını piyasaya çıkardı. Hüseyin Baradan (our unforgettable Turkish Cinema actor) has published a book called 'Where These Eyes Have Seen'. Gözcü Gazetesi, 25 July 2003
    Po 
    posta koyamazcan't put postcan't make a fool out ofHiç kimse bana böyle posta koyamaz. Nobody can make a fool of me like this!
    pot kırmak
    Also see çam devirmek.
    to break an unwanted pucker/wrinkleto say something wrong, put one's foot in one's mouth, make a faux pasOrada öyle bir pot kırdın ki ne yapsan düzeltemezsin. You made such a faux pas over there that you'll never be able to repair the damage.
    Pu 
    pusulayı şaşırmak for the compass to be bewildered
  • to lose one's bearings; to be on the wrong track
  • to be utterly confounded; to be at a loss what to do next
  • Ne yapıyorsun yahu, sen bugün pusulayı şaşırdın galiba.99 What's wrong with you today, fella? You must have lost your bearings.
  • Her şeyini bir anda yitiren yaşlı adam pusulayı şaşırdı.99 The old man (who lost everything in a very short while) was at a loss what to do.
  •  
    püf noktası
    Also seen as:
  • işin püf noktası
  • bir işin püf noktası
  • [the sound of air blown from the mouth] point
  • the most important, as well as the most delicate part (of a matter)
  • the key or crucial point (about sth)
  • Kek yapmanın püf noktası içine konulan malzemelerin iyi karıştırılmasıdır.102 The most important part of cake making is the proper mixing of the ingredients as you put them in.
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    We wish to extend thanks to
    Emin Özdemir, Osman Çizmeciler, Ömer Asım Aksoy, H. Fethi Gözler,
    Ferit Devellioğlu, Nermin and Muammer Yüzbaşıoğlu,
    Halil Uysal, Ali Püsküllüoğlu, and Ali Uslu

    for their Turkish Idioms source material -- on which some of this page is based.

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